Waiting Patiently For Failure

I waited patiently for a runner to top the stairs in the shadow of the building atop Hoover Dam. The light was near perfect to put him in shadow against the grainy concrete structure of the building also showing its own set of dark shadows.

I finally got it after watching a collection of runners hit the peak with most of them in perfect profile looking like a two-dimensional cutout.

Only this runner at this moment gave me a photo that looked like he was running, in action, foot off the ground and turning to continue the run. I had it.

Later, when I began the edit I noticed the runner entering the frame at the bottom right. You might not see him because of my watermark but he’s there. He stands out as a visual distraction. An object at the corner of the frame that has nothing to do with the original composition and timing.

He’s in a light gray sweatshirt, another distraction at the corner of the frame.

He ruined the photo, for me. Not that it would have been a great photo, one I’d become identified by. But it was after trying different distances from the dam and lining myself up with the handrail at the left I thought I would get something different. Something I’d never made before.

I got that wish. It’s different but not for what I intended. I’ll be trying another day.

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